01
Tether hires for Europe as ESMA tightens the line on non‑MiCA stablecoins
This signals that access to the EU stablecoin market increasingly depends on formal MiCA compliance, shaping which dollar-backed tokens EU platforms can support.
Daily edition
Fintech / Payments Brief
Material developments in payments, digital finance and regulation, selected for an HKMA audience.
5 stories
Today’s brief
02
Riksbank reignites e-krona debate
The story signals that central banks in highly digital economies are reassessing whether a CBDC is needed to maintain monetary sovereignty as private and foreign digital payment instruments spread.
03
Canada opens 60-day consultation on draft stablecoin rules
The proposal signals that Canada wants fiat-backed stablecoins used as payment instruments rather than yield-bearing products, which would shape how issuers structure reserves, redemptions and customer economics.
04
ESM settles first supranational DLT bond on Eurosystem’s Pontes platform
This is a live test of whether tokenised bond issuance can plug into core euro-area settlement and collateral frameworks without breaking compatibility with traditional post-trade infrastructure.
05
Fed loses appeal over debit-card swipe-fee cap
A rewritten cap could lower debit acceptance costs for merchants while reducing fee revenue for large card issuers, affecting pricing and economics across U.S. card payments.